New Jersey man spreads autism awareness through TikTok videos

April is Autism Awareness Month, but for one New Jersey man, it is an everyday mission.

Kerry Magro is an author, lecturer, and teacher who has autism. He didn't speak until he was 2 1/2 and was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum at age 4. He underwent occupational, physical, and speech therapy for 15 years and eventually got both a bachelor's and a master's degree from Seton Hall, and a doctorate in education from New Jersey City University.

He started a foundation, KFM Making a Difference to, in part, award college scholarships to deserving students with autism. He travels the world giving lectures and seminars; he is also a successful author, having published four books, with the proceeds going to his foundation.

Now he has taken his message to TikTok to great success. He told CBS 2 New York, about one of his first videos, "It received over 4.1 million views on TikTok. I just had so many parents, educators, family members who just wanted to learn more about autism, and they were like, keep going, keep doing what you're doing because it's making a difference."

Helping young adults with autism is a passion for Magro, as for many of them, support ends when school ends. He travels the country lobbying state legislatures for more support for people with autism, especially after they "age out" of school-sponsored programs.

He encourages parents to never give up advocating for their autistic child and to keep fighting for the resources available to them.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.

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